Markiplier is breathing easy now that production for Iron Lung is underway. The content creator and entrepreneur will direct, write, and star in the new horror film based on the video game of the same name created by David Szymanski. Markiplier is self-financing the adaptation, with Will Hyde and Jeff Guerrero also producing.
Szymanski’s Iron Lung video game is a brief interactive experience in which players pilot a tiny submarine through an ocean of blood on an alien moon. Sounds like fun, eh? With over 69 million copies sold across digital platforms, including YouTube, the boasts 5,081 “Very Positive” reviews on Steam. Production for the Iron Lung movie is already happening in Austin, Texas.
Per the game’s homepage on Steam:
Set entirely within a claustrophobic one-person submarine nicknamed the “Iron Lung,” you must blindly navigate an ocean of blood to take photographs of key locations and hope whatever lives below doesn’t find you.
There is only a single porthole on the sub. It needs to be closed due to depth pressure, so you have to navigate purely via an incomplete map, proximity sensors, sound, and a primitive external camera which can be used to take the pictures you need to complete your mission or to get a grainy low-resolution visual of what’s happening outside.
Markiplier became famous through his YouTube channel and a “Let’s Play” series of videos and commentary. Subscribers flocked to his analysis of video games in survival action and horror genres, providing fans with hours of entertainment. Makiplier is involved in several other projects, including the YouTube Original Series In Space with Markiplier, the YouTube Original Series A Heist with Markiplier, and The Edge of Sleep, an adaptation of the podcast of the same name.
Video game adaptations are the hottest ticket in Hollywood after the success of film and television projects like HBO’s The Last of Us, Illumination and Nintendo’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie. I expect to see many more games optioned throughout 2023, with Iron Lung being an exciting prospect.
Have you played Iron Lung? If so, what do you think of it? Let us know in the comments.